A Better Life
by andyouwillneverknow
Summary: Will Mark and Lexie's plans for the future be cut to a tragic end by a fatal accident that leaves her in danger? What life could've been like if Lexie had lived passed the awful plane crash.
1. Chapter 1

Bad things happen to good people...One minute you can be flying across the country to help a small hospital perform a miraculous, life changing surgery and the next...

His charming green eyes caught mine across the small aisle separating our leather cushioned plane seats. My previous words to him had been branded into my mind since the moment they left my lips. The slight drizzle that was falling outside the hospital that night still tickled the back of my neck if I thought hard enough. 'I love you', speaking those three simple words aloud were what freed me from the shackles that Mark Sloan held on me. It was like just saying them, putting it out there was enough to get the gears in his head spinning. I knew that deep down he loved me, too. He just needed to remember the love we shared.

I was nearly asleep, tying to clear my head of all things Mark Sloan. My head was resting light against the window as we glided smoothly past the clouds. He cleared his throat, making me jump a little. He pointed to the seat next to me, like he was asking permission to sit next to me.

I tried to conceal the confused look that had overcome my face and staggered to an upright position. I nodded my approval and watched Mark take the seat next to me. My skin felt like it was on fire, like an electric current was running between the two of us. It was probably strong enough to light the entire plane.

"Lexie, I've been wanted to say this for a while now," He said, staring straight ahead at the seat in front of him. "I just did not want to upset you. What you and Jackson had...it was a good thing. I wanted you to be happy." He wrung his hands nervously between his legs. I wanted to reach over and grab his hands, but I knew I needed to listen to him first. "I love you, Lexie," He whispered.

My heart stopped for a moment. I did a double take to make sure I was not dreaming. After everything the two of us had gone through in the last three years he was finally admitting his love for me? I let myself reach for his hand this time and intertwine his fingers with mine.

"I'm not done," He said pulling his hand away and digging it into the breast pocket of his scrubs. He revealed a black velvet box. I studied the small box, I knew exactly what was inside. I sucked in a gasp of air and reached up to cover my mouth.

"Mark..." My voice trailed off.

"You don't have to say anything. Just listen to me," He said. "I love you. I always have and I always will," He shook his head and opened his lips, revealing a row of his teeth. "Life is too short to not do the things we want. And I... I want to marry you." He popped open the box and slid to one knee in the small area between our seats. "Marry me, Lexie? Marry me and have my kids," He pleaded. "We'll build our own huge house and give Sofia siblings. Two sisters and brother," A genuine smile spread across my face. This is what I had been waiting for since I first slept with Mark three years ago. "We're good together Lexie and I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life."

I gasped again, trying to take in the moment. This was it. Mark wanted me just as much as I wanted him. I nodded quickly. "Yes," Tears rolled down my face, but they were tears of joy. "Yes, Mark. I will marry you."

Mark slid the huge diamond ring onto the ring finger of my left hand and leaned forward to kiss me. I kissed him back, loving the familiar feeling of his lips against mine. I finally felt whole again.

That was the last thing I remember.

I woke up underneath a giant piece of metal pinning me to the cold forest floor. Chills ran up and down my spine, I couldn't feel either of my legs or my right arm, and blood was seeping out of the corners of my mouth. The worst part was. I was alone. Mark, Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Arizona...no body was near me. I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound was muddled by the blood in my mouth.

The pain was excruciating. I was going to die. Of that I was sure. I was alone in the forest, pinned under a piece of plane, with multiple crush injuries. The only thing making me hold onto hope was glistening engagement ring still stationed on my left hand. Mark and my sister they were out there somewhere. I imagined that because thinking of the alternative was overwhelming.

"Lexie!" Meredith's voice called, instantly calming me.

"Lexie!" Mark and Cristina cried in unison. They were all alive. At least those three were.

I struggled to search for something, anything, that would let them know where I was. A stray seatbelt glistening in the sun caught my eye. I reached for it with my good eye and smacked it repeatedly against the side of the plane. The sound echoed throughout the forest. I hoped that it would catch their attention. I needed them. They were my only chance at survival.

Mark broke through the wall of trees first. Followed closely behind by Cristina, who was hugging her right arm close to her chest and Meredith who was limping as quickly as possible. My heart leapt in my chest at the site of the three of them, which only caused the blood in my mouth to flow stronger. I choked on it a little and struggled to raise my head off the ground.

Mark reached me first, dropping to his knees before me and reaching under the plane to assess my many injuries. "What's wrong, Lexie?" He asked, his voice a veil of concern.

I shook my head. "I have multiple crush injuries. There's a lot of blood in my mouth, so I'm guessing a pneumothorax. I can't feel my right arm, if it's even still there. And probable a spinal injury, because I cannot feel either of my legs."

Mark's face drained of color. He reached for my ringed hand and squeezed it between his. "Cristina go back to the plane. Get a chest tube, a backboard, and anything you can find that can life this damn plane off of her!" Mark shouted.

Cristina stopped where she was and studied me for a moment. She obviously saw what I knew and what Mark did not want to admit. I was going to die.

"Why aren't you going!" Mark screamed.

There was a pause while Cristina's dark eyes danced between me and him. I sucked in a breath, clearing my mouth of the blood inside. "Because she knows it won't help."

Mark kicked the dirt with his sneaker. Anger was rising inside him, made obvious by the pulsing veins in his neck. "You are not going to die!" He turned to look over his shoulder at Cristina. "Go!"

Cristina nodded and ran, passing a very unstable Meredith. Mark turned back to me and cupped my face in his hand. "You're going to be okay, Lexie. I promise."

I nodded weakly, because I knew arguing with him was not going to help. I also knew that somewhere inside him he knew that this was the end for us. Meredith came closer, taking a spot next to Mark. She looked at me under the metal and reached for my shoulder, rubbing it lightly.

"You're going to be fine, Lexie. We're not going to let you die," She whispered.

Meredith was not an optimist. I knew this was an act. She was saying this, because she knew it would be something I would say. She was never good at bright and shiny. It made me laugh a little. To find her comforting me. Being optimistic. Our roles had become so reversed since we first met.

Cristina came rushing back. Cradled between her side and her left arm was a chest tube and a neck brace. Her other, limp hand held a long metal pole. It was a start. The pain was becoming lesser and lesser as the minutes ticked by. I was also becoming closer, which meant that I was losing too much blood. They were all only more insurance that my life was going to be over soon.

"Here," Cristina said, dropping the contents in her hands on the ground beside Mark.

He stared at them for a moment, probably trying to decide what the best plan was. Mark was a fighter. Especially when it came to someone he loved. I knew no amount of arguing was going to get him to stop. Even though I was aware that fighting for my life may end up killing him emotionally.

"Meredith? Can you fit under there?" He asked, nodding toward the pile of metal on top of me.

Meredith examined the plane for a moment, then started shimmying toward me. "Yeah, I can." She wedged herself between the ground and the plane. When she was next to me she smiled weakly, then reached out for the supplies Mark was handing her.

It was a long tube and a safety pin. I sucked in a breath, because I knew where that was going. If I thought the pain was bad before it was about to get a whole lot wore. Meredith repositioned herself and ripped my scrub top open.

"Open her chest with the safety pin and use the tube to drain the blood," Mark instructed, taking his old place next to the plane. "Do not puncture her heart or lung!" He warned.

Meredith sucked in a deep breath. She looked at me one last time and mouthed something I didn't quite catch. Then the pain started. She stabbed the pin into my chest, then wedged the tube between my flesh. The only good part was the sudden relief I felt at the draining blood.

"That feel better," I whispered.

Meredith smiled at me. It was a little less forced this time. "I know."

"Stabilize her head with the brace and get out of there," Mark instructed.

Meredith did as she was told, then I was alone under the plane again. The only thing that let me know they were still out there was the shuffling of their feet as they worked vigorously around he piece of plane. They had managed to wedge the pole Cristina brought between the ground and the metal.

"One three..." Mark announced. I could hear the strain in his voice. "One...two...three..." He grunted and Meredith moaned under the weight of the plane. It shifted a little, freeing my legs, then suddenly the metal was gone. I was completely free. I sucked in a deep breath, which hurt. Every small movement I made hurt. My legs and arm were still numb, but the crushing pain was slightly better.

Mark bent down next to me and smiled. "You're free," He said, smiling.

He was happy, but we both knew that this was not any clearance. There was still a good chance that I was going to die. My injuries were too severe to be treated out in the wilderness. I needed an OR and I needed one yesterday.


	2. A New Beginning

The bleeding stopped. The tightness in my chest became looser. The numbness in my limbs slowly subsided. But my fight was far from over. We were still stranded in the middle of the woods. Our flares burnt out. Our food and clean water supplies were dwindling. Staying warm was nearly impossible. We spent each night huddled together in a giant clump, in an attempt to share body heat.

The days and nights became a blur. I had no idea how much time had passed when the rescue helicopters dropped their ladders down. I was barely able to stay conscious long enough to feel relieved. I was only vaguely aware of Mark explaining what happened to me, then I was being strapped to a backboard and lifted onto the waiting helicopter.

* * *

My eyes blinked open, slowly. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead were a reminder of our rescue. Relief instantly flooded my system. Even the incessant, steady beeping sounds of the machines attached to my body was music to my ears. I let a small smile crack across my lips before looking down to study the damage. My right arm was wrapped in a white cast and being supported by a sling. My right leg was in a splint. There was a map of tubes and wires sticking out of my body. A few black and blue marks dotted my pale skin. I could feel a bandage taped to the side of my chest underneath the pale green hospital gown I was wearing. It was probably covering the hole Meredith made with the makeshift chest tube.

"Lexie?" Mark's deep voice asked from across the room. I rolled my head to the side and saw him sitting in an armchair by the door. I smiled and watched as he stumbled through the room in an effort to get near me. He grabbed my hand once he was standing beside my bed, then bent down and placed a gentle kiss to the skin on my forehead.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked.

Mark began to list my injuries: broken radius and ulna in my arm, infection from the MacGyver chest tube, sprained spine, concussion, bruised ribs, my right fibula was chipped, and some internal bleeding. It sounded as though he had been studying my chart. I nodded. They were all treatable injuries, I was going to be fine.

"How's everyone else?" I questioned. Mark's face fell slightly and my heart sped up in my chest. It was made obvious by the heart monitor near my head. My cheeks turned red from embarrassment, but I didn't care. I continued to stare at Mark, waiting for an answer.

"Arizona..." He said letting his voice trail off. My eyes grew wide with shock and my mouth dropped open. I tried to picture a world without Arizona, but failed. She was bright and shiny, always smiling and offering optimistic advice. Poor Callie would never be the same... "She lost her leg..."

I looked up at Mark, his face twisted into confusion when he saw the relief in my expression. My heart started to slow down and I was breathing easier. She was still alive. I whispered over and over again. Mark was still standing next to me, waiting for an explanation. "I thought she died..."

Mark shook his head, but his beat up expression did not change. "She's not taking the amputation well."

I let out an incredulous laugh and looked up at hm like he had grown seven heads. "Who would?" I asked, simply. Arizona is a surgeon. Her job is to spend an inhumane amount of hours on her feet. They took away her leg. Right now she's probably wondering how she still practices medicine. How does she do the thing she loves? "She's scared, Mark. That her career is over."

In the woods, when I was lying under the plane my limbs were numb. A million scenarios went through my head. Would I ever be able to walk again? Was my arm still attached to my body? Losing limbs and being wheelchair bound weren't the scariest thoughts, though. Not being able to operate was what made me want to die. I understood why Arizona wasn't taking the amputation well. I understood completely.

Then I remembered the moment on the plane before we crashed. Mark's proposal. I looked down at my left hand. It was bare. I patted the sheets beside me, hoping it hadn't fallen off in my sleep. They were empty. I silently cursed myself for leaving it behind in the woods. Mark pulled the glistening ring out of the fresh pair of scrubs he was wearing. "Looking for this?" He questioned and slipped it onto my finger. Apparently, they had given it to him when I went into surgery for the bleeding in my abdomen.

* * *

The light outside my window became dimmer and dimmer as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon. I yawned and struggled to keep my eyes open. Mark laughed. He pulled the sheets back and climbed into bed beside me, being careful to avoid jostling my casted arm. He pulled my body against his chest and slowly stroked my hair. "Get some rest," He prompted.

"I can't sleep. I'm so happy to be awake," I explained, saying the words into his chest. It felt good to have his arms around me again. It had been too long.

Mark nodded and let out a slight chuckle. Then I got comfortable and listened as he retold the story of our week from hell. I had been asleep in the hospital for almost two days. Owen had sent out a search party for us when we were four hours late for the surgery we were assisting on. Meredith and Derek were already back in Seattle with Zola. They were getting the top surgeons to look at Derek's hand. It had been badly injured in the crash. They're hoping to salvage the nerve so he can continue to operate. Callie, Arizona, and Sofia were all here. Callie was upset about Arizona's depressed mood after waking up with no leg. Cristina and Owen were both here, too. Cristina hadn't said a word since we were rescued. Owen was fighting the hospital's choice to put her in the psych ward. Meredith and Mark were the only ones who got out unscathed. How they did it will always be a mystery to me.

Nurses came in and out of the room throughout the whole story. They offered me food and checked my vitals. My doctor, Dr. Hooke, came in to examine me as well. They all claimed that I looked good and once the infection cleared up I could go home. I shook at the idea of getting on a plane again, but Mark promised that Seattle Grace Mercy West was arranging a car service for the long journey back. Meredith and Derek had already taken a car home because they refused to board a plane again.

* * *

Mark helped me sign my discharge papers and change into the pair of fresh clothes that Bailey brought for me from Seattle. A shiny black Escalade with a driver was waiting for us in the hospital's parking garage. We said goodbye to Arizona, Callie, and Sofia. The doctor's did not want Arizona to leave until after she was fitted for a prosthetic, so the three of them were going to stay here for a few more weeks. Then we stopped by to sit with Cristina and Owen. She still wasn't talking, but Owen talked to her and encouraged us to do the same. He still had hope that she would snap out of this funk she was in. We all had to keep hoping because it was the only thing we had left.

Mark wheeled me down to the lower level. He helped me into the backseat of the car, then we were on our way. The car ride was long. My injuries made it uncomfortable and forced us to stop a lot. I was shifting the entire car ride and felt terrible every time I woke Mark up, but he assured me he didn't mind.

* * *

Mark insisted that I stay at his apartment so he could monitor my condition. The night we came home we were both exhausted from the long drive and sleepless nights. Mark didn't complain once. I was still sore and had trouble moving around. It didn't matter what I needed help with, even the simplest of things, Mark was there.

The familiar scent of his apartment hit me as soon as I made it through the door. I leaned into Mark's chest to hide my growing smile. It felt nice to be back. Especially after everything we've gone through in the last week. Mark helped me onto the couch, then rubbed his growling stomach.

"Hungry?" He asked, reaching for the remote and switching on the TV. He flipped through the channels before landing on some murder mystery show. They were his favorite. My growling stomach answered for me. Mark flipped open his cell phone. "Chinese?" It was my favorite and he knew that. "Chicken and broccoli with pork fried rice?" I licked my lips in response. Mark placed our order then sat down on the couch next to me while we waited. I leaned into him and got lost in the twisted plot unfolding on the show we were watching.

After we finished dinner Mark helped me get ready for a shower. He wrapped my cast in a plastic bag and used I.V tape to secure it around my arm. Then he took my splint off and helped me out of my clothes and into the shower. Standing was still difficult because of the chipped bone in my leg, so Mark held me upright while I showered. The warm water beating down on my body felt amazing. It relaxed my tense shoulders and neck. I spent the last four days holed up in the hospital and the clean feeling I felt after climbing out of the shower was unbeatable.

I changed into a pair of Mark's old sweatpants and baggy t-shirt. His clothes were swimming on my body, but they always felt like they were made for me. He helped me get tucked into bed then retreated to take a shower. I discreetly pressed my nose to his t-shirt and breathed in his familiar scent. By the time Mark got out of the shower I was only half conscious. The bed shifted under his weight. Then his arms were around me. I laid my head on his bare chest, which smelled like his Axe body wash. The soothing scent helped me drift off to a deep sleep. Being here in his apartment... in his bed, and wearing his clothes was the perfect ending to a relatively good day.

* * *

**I have been meaning to put this up for a while now. I'm sorry it took so long! Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!**


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